


Everybody Does

by bad_astronaut14



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, The Last of Us - Freeform, The Last of Us Part II - Freeform, back at it again with the angsty shit, dina gives it to her, ellie needs a hug, i love my soft little lesbians, why am i like this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:14:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24767527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bad_astronaut14/pseuds/bad_astronaut14
Summary: "How long have you been standing there?" Ellie's voice trembled, thick with vulnerability.Dina simply shook her head, more tears escaping as if to say long enough. She crossed the remainder of the short distance to Ellie, pulling her to her feet and wrapping her arms around her girlfriend.Dina's fingers wrinkled her t-shirt where they grasped at Ellie's being.
Relationships: Dina/Ellie (The Last of Us)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 212





	Everybody Does

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back, bitches. This one's short, but it packs the feels. I'm on tumblr @ bad-astronaut14, so shoot me requests, comments, feedback, or just hit me up to chat! Happy reading!

Ellie's fingers glided across the strings of the guitar, filling the quiet of her home with the sweet sounds of melancholic chords. 

Her voice layered on top of the strumming, spilling her emotions out before her and leaving her bare and vulnerable. 

_Let me pick through the empty dirt and the rotten wood_

_The shop you work, cause I'm interested_

Everything around Ellie faded as she shut her eyes and lost herself to the music flowing from her mouth and the guitar.

_In a carpenter, so elegant at placing splinters_

_Right beneath my nails_

_Where I cannot dig them out_

Tears trickled from the corners of her eyes as her mind wandered to places that made her _hurt_. But sometimes it feels better to hurt than to feel nothing at all. 

_Of the same briars from your wrists_

_Are the tinder in my father's house_

The door to her bedroom slowly creaked open, and Dina's face peered through the small opening between the door and the doorframe. Her brow was knitted together in worry, her expression creasing her forehead.

Ellie's patrol had arrived back in Jackson a few hours before, and she had disappeared as soon as they had gotten back, apparently. Everyone Dina had asked wasn't aware of Ellie's whereabouts, some even unaware that Ellie had been a part of the patrol. 

This, of course, had unsettled Dina. However, she decided to give Ellie some space, listening to what her girlfriend's actions communicated. She'd give her a few hours, and then give her someone to talk to if she wanted it.

She opened the door the rest of the way and leaned against the doorframe, face softening even further as she took in Ellie's tear-stained cheeks and the way her face twisted with emotion.

_I know, I know_

_I know myself better than anybody else_

Ellie remained oblivious to Dina's presence, still lost to the turmoil plaguing her mind.

_And you're gonna run_

_When you find out who I am_

Dina's heart shattered at the words that left her girlfriend's mouth. She desperately wanted to embrace Ellie and tell her anything and everything she needed to hear until she believed it. But she let Ellie continue.

_I know I'm a pile of filthy wreckage_

_You will wish you never touched_

_You're gonna run, when you find out who I am_

_You're gonna run_

Dina shed a few tears of her own, and desperately choked back a sob that threatened to leave her mouth. She pushed off of the doorframe and took a hesitant step towards Ellie.

_You're gonna run, it's alright, everybody does_

_You're gonna run_

_It's alright, everybody does_

The final chord faded out, and Ellie opened her eyes. She flinched slightly, not expecting to see Dina standing in front of her.

"How long have you been standing there?" Ellie's voice trembled, thick with vulnerability.

Dina simply shook her head, more tears escaping as if to say _long enough_. She crossed the remainder of the short distance to Ellie, pulling her to her feet and wrapping her arms around her girlfriend. 

Dina's fingers wrinkled her t-shirt where they grasped at Ellie's being. 

"Y-you really think that?" Dina damn near sobbed into the crook of Ellie's neck desperately trying to understand why she would feel that way about herself. Why she couldn't see what Dina saw. The sweet, strong, and loyal Ellie she loved so much.

Ellie didn't speak, and that spoke volumes to Dina.

But why? How?

"Oh Ellie, baby." Dina pulled her impossibly closer, now beginning to feel the sobs that wracked the body so close to her own.

Ellie and Dina held each other, swaying softly as their cries gradually died down. 

Dina pulled back first, eyes meeting Ellie's for the first time that night. She smiled as her hands came up to cradle Ellie's face, and the two shared a watery laugh. 

"C'mon. Let's sit down." Dina sat on the edge of the bed and Ellie followed, leaning into Dina's side. She stayed quiet and waited for the words to come, but after several minutes they never did.

"I'm here if you wanna talk, El, but if you don't that's okay too."

More silence followed.

"Dibs?"

"Hmm?"

"Thanks."

"You don't need to thank me, love. Do you wanna talk about it?"

Ellie sighed and let her eyes slip closed.

"Later."

"Okay. Is there anything I can do, baby?"

"Can I hold you?"

"Of course." Dina smiled softly, slowly retracting the arm that had snaked around Ellie's waist.

Ellie stood and shed her shirt and jeans, Dina doing the same before Ellie settled on her back with Dina's head nuzzled into her neck and her body comfortingly splayed over her own.

Dina felt herself starting to slip into sleep, and she placed a few soft kisses on Ellie's neck beneath her chin and tangled their legs together.

Ellie closed her eyes and released a breath, relishing in the feeling of Dina and pulling her closer. She laid there, even after Dina fell asleep. She watched Dina's soft puffs of breath, felt her heartbeat against her own. She tried to focus on the little things about Dina that made her smile, tried to ignore the nagging voice in the back of her head.

She eventually drifted off into a fitful sleep, waking up with the sun and Dina in her arms. She tucked her nose into her girlfriend's hair, breathing in her scent and feeling her affectionately brush her nose against the underside of her jaw in her sleep. 

"I don't deserve you." Ellie's voice was hoarse and quiet both from crying and the lack of use, but she felt a little better after hearing the words aloud. The words had been bouncing around her skull ever since Dina had chosen her. First as a friend and again as a lover. She didn't think she'd ever understand why. 

Dina stirred slightly at the confession, the soft rumble in Ellie's chest when she spoke rousing her. She rose her head slightly from its place on her chest, eyes still closed.

"Ellie?" Dina slurred, still half asleep.

"'M okay, love." Dina smiled and hummed contently, again nestling her face beneath Ellie's jawline and quickly falling back asleep. It was another two hours of staring at Dina before the girl in question finally woke. 

Dina came to with a yawn, hovering her face above Ellie's chest as she rubbed her tired eyes. She finally looked at Ellie, bringing a hand up to cup her jaw with a small smile.

"Hey, you."

They shared a small kiss. Ellie groaned as Dina slid her body off of her own and to her right, and she rolled to her side to face her girlfriend. 

"Hey yourself."

"How we doing this morning?" Dina's eyes softened, studying her girlfriend's complexion.

"Peachy."

"Seriously, El. What's wrong, baby?"

Ellie exhaled, deciding to just bite the bullet.

"Jack was bitten on patrol last night."

Dina's jaw clenched at the thought of the poor kid. He was only 16.

"Were you with him?"

"No…" Ellie's voice was small and she curled into herself, averting Dina's gaze.

"Oh, Ellie. You know it's not your fault, baby."

Ellie stayed quiet, but the way her jaw clenched and her nostrils flared told Dina she didn't really believe it. Dina's eyes searched her own when they gazed back at her face, silently begging first Ellie to say something, _anything_. 

She placed a hand atop Dina's and shakily guided it to rest on her tattooed forearm. Then, in a voice so small Dina could've imagined it, Ellie spoke.

"Why me?"

_(What's option three?)_

Realization hit Dina like a truck.

"No no no, don't put that on yourself, love. You _can't_ put that on yourself. _Please,_ El." Dina rambled desperately, trying to pull Ellie from her spiral of survivor's guilt. She cupped Ellie's jaw with her other hand, wiping away the few tears rolling down her girlfriend's face. 

"I don't deserve any of this." Ellie muttered again, shaking her head. 

"Yes, yes you do. You deserve the world, Ellie. You find the beauty in everything. You _put_ beauty in everything."

Ellie's eyes dropped down to where Dina's thumb gently swiped over the scarring on her forearm. 

"I think that bite is the most beautiful part of you."

She looked at Dina like she had just told her the sky was purple.

"How?"

Dina smiled gently, eyes bouncing between Ellie's face and her forearm.

"It reminds me of your strength, your resilience, your loyalty…"

"Sure." Ellie wasn't convinced.

"And without it, I never would have met you. And that is the most beautiful thing I can imagine."

Only then did Ellie crack a small smile, leaning in to gently connect her lips with Dina's. Dina smiled into the kiss, relieved to have gotten through to Ellie, if even only a little. 

"I love you, Dibs."

"I love you too, El. More than you could imagine."

She pushed Dina onto her back, reversing their positions from the night before. She nuzzled her face into her neck with a hum, a low rumble of her chest.

Ellie didn't think she would ever understand. But she thinks, maybe she's okay with that.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! The wait is almost over, friends.


End file.
